An investigation is under way after the official website of the Jilin municipal government in Northeast China has been shut down since it was hacked on Saturday.

Local police have so far turned up no information about the hackers, sources with the website operator told China Daily yesterday.

Hackers infiltrated the website of the Jilin municipal government (www.jlcity.gov.cn) on Saturday evening, the director of the Jilin Municipal Modernization Office in Jilin Province, surnamed Wang, said yesterday.

The office is in charge of the construction and operation of websites of the Jilin municipal government.

The hacker left a message after infiltrating the website but left no traces of his or her identity and the reason why they breached the website, according to Wang.

Nobody with the office was on duty on Saturday.

Shortly after the website was hacked, someone left a message on the website, telling the administrator that he or she intended to help them resume normal operations but failed to find backup information.

The hacked website has been closed since Sunday to allow local police to collect information for the investigation, Wang said.

He admitted that the official website of the Jilin municipal government lacks sufficient safety measures.

"We made recommendations to the municipal government many times to invest in safety," Wang said, noting that their efforts fell on deaf ears. The official plans to dispatch staff to be on duty during Saturdays and Sundays.

The main function of the official website of the Jilin municipal government, which was established in the 1990s, is to make governmental information and notices public.

(China Daily 12/20/2005 page2)